Device for treating smoke addiction

ABSTRACT

A device for treating smoking addiction is adapted to be held between the frontal teeth surfaces and inner surface of the lips of a user has a central part and a peripheral part. The central part has at least one hole and is made of plastic or rubber material. The peripheral part is made of a saliva-dissolvable material. The user draws air through the hole in the central part such that the inhalation essentially mimics draw on a smoking article.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a device which is intended and adaptedto be enclosed by a space defined between the frontal surfaces of theteeth and the inner surfaces of the lips of a user.

The inventive device is intended to assist people who suffer from asmoking or tobacco dependency and who wish consciously to take measuresto overcome their smoking dependency.

More specifically, the inventive device is intended to function as anauxiliary for people who do not have sufficient willpower to stopsmoking immediately, but who wish to reduce their smoking habitsuccessively, at their own pace.

KNOWN PRIOR ART

Ingrained smokers who wish to overcome a pronounced craving to smokehave at least three mutually independent habits and cravings toovercome:

Habit of Movement

When smoking, the smoker will move his/her hands in a pattern which hasbecome habitual and which is therefore normally deeply rooted. Normally,there is a certain ceremonial touch over the movement pattern of thehands of a smoker as he/she smokes, for instance the manner in which acigarette, cigar, pipe or like device is held and moved.

The Desire to Smoke

In the act of smoking, the air or gas which passes through thecigarette, etc., as the smoker draws on the cigarette meets a certainresistance, the magnitude of which depends on the flow rate of theinhalation air. Consequently, there exists an ingrained feeling that theinhalation air does not constantly obtain free passage through thepharynx and down into the lungs.

Craving for Nicotine

Finally, as a result of the smoke generated and the inhalation of thissmoke, there is delivered to the smoker a highly habit-forming,stimulating poison in the form of nicotine.

There are known to the art several different devices and proposals forenabling a person suffering from a tobacco dependency to reduce his/hertobacco consumption successively as opposed to stopping smokingcompletely.

For instance, various methods have been proposed for successivelyreducing the craving for nicotine.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION TECHNICAL PROBLEM

When considering the present standpoint of techniques, as describedabove, it will be seen that a technical problem exists in providing adevice which in a first withdrawal stage provides a possibility ofovercoming solely the aforesaid movement habits, and also a possibilityof completely satisfying the desire to smoke and the craving fornicotine.

It will also be seen that a technical problem resides in the provisionof a device which, after having overcome the movement habit, is able toprovide a possibility of overcoming the craving for nicotine, eitherimmediately or successively over a period of time, but while stillsatisfying the desire to smoke during the whole of the treatment period.

It will also be seen from the present state of techniques that atechnical problem resides in the ability to realize the significance ofproviding a device which can be held in the mouth and which is soconfigured that an airflow drawn therethrough (inhalation) will meetwith a resistance which corresponds to or essentially corresponds to theresistance applicable to the airflow through a cigarette, cigar, pipe orthe like at a flow rate which is applicable to normal smoking.

It will also be seen that a technical problem is one of being able torealize the significance of configuring the device so that it can beenclosed in a space defined by the user between frontal surfaces of theteeth and the inner surfaces of the lips.

Another technical problem in this respect is one of being able torealize the significance of configuring said device with a central partand by forming a peripheral part from a saliva-dissolved material, or byconstructing the device as a whole from a saliva-dissolved material,i.e. the device exists in tablet form.

It must also be considered a technical problem to realize thesignificance of selecting the peripheral part from a material which ismore dissolved readily by saliva than the central part.

Another technical problem is one of realizing the significance ofincluding in the saliva-dissolved material an adapted proportion ofnicotine such that the devices or tablets used will have varyingproportions of nicotine and that a successive transition to smaller andsmaller proportions of nicotine is required in weaning process.

SOLUTION

The present invention relates to a device which is intended and adaptedto be enclosed in a space defined between the frontal surfaces of theteeth and the inner surfaces of the lips of a user.

In accordance with the invention, the device is provided in a centralregion which contains one or more holes whose cross-section is adaptedso that the airflow drawn in through the device (inhalation) will meetwith a resistance which corresponds to or essentially corresponds to theresistance met by the airflow through a cigarette, cigar, pipe or likedevice, where the flow rate is adapted to the flow rate applicable tonormal smoking.

According to proposed embodiments that fall within the scope of thepresent invention, the perforated central part of the device consists ofa plastic material, rubber material or like material, and a peripheralpart which surrounds or partially embraces the central part consists ofa material which is dissolved by the saliva of the user.

It is also proposed that the central part and the peripheral part whichsurrounds the central part either completely or partially, are comprisedof a saliva-dissolved material.

According to another proposal, the peripheral part is made from amaterial which is more readily dissolved by saliva than the materialfrom which the central part is made.

Finally, it is suggested that the saliva-dissolved material will containan adapted proportion of nicotine.

ADVANTAGES

Those advantages primarily afforded by an inventive device when used tocure or wean smokers from their tobacco or smoking dependency reside inthe creation of conditions in which, in a first step, the smoker is ableto overcome the movement habits of his/her arms and hands and, in asecond step, successively reduce the craving for nicotine and finally,in a last step, to overcome the smoker's desire to smoke.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

A number of embodiments at present proposed and illustrating thesignificant characteristic features of the present invention will now bedescribed in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawing, inwhich

FIG. 1 is a front view of a person holding an inventive device in aspace defined between the frontal surfaces of the teeth and the innersurfaces of the lips;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a first embodiment of the inventivedevice;

FIG. 3 illustrates a second embodiment of the inventive device; and

FIG. 4 illustrates a third embodiment of the device.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS AT PRESENT PREFERRED

FIG. 1 illustrates the face of a person 1 holding an inventive device 2in a space 3 defined between the frontal surfaces of the teeth of thecarrier or user and the inner surfaces of the lips thereof.

It is assumed that the device 2 in FIG. 1 is identical with the deviceillustrated in FIG. 2, and it will be seen from FIG. 2 that the deviceis provided with one or more holes in a central region 20, these holesbeing four in number and referenced 21, 22, 23, 24. The commoncross-section of the holes is adapted so that when inhaling, the airflowdrawn through the device will meet with a resistance which correspondsto, or essentially corresponds to, an air resistance that is applicableto the airflow through a cigarette, a cigar, a pipe or like smokingdevice, and where the air resistance thus relates to a flow rate throughthe cigarette or the like applicable to normal smoking.

It will be seen from FIG. 2 that the central part containing the holes21-24 is comprised of a plastic material, a rubber material or likematerial, and that the central part 20 is surrounded by a peripheralpart 25 comprised of a saliva-dissolved material.

This material may comprise a gel-forming material, sugar and naturalaromatic substances, and may optionally also include an adaptedproportion of nicotine.

The proportion of nicotine contained by the central part 20 may differwith different batches of devices, so as to enable the craving fornicotine to be gradually reduced, by beginning with a nicotineproportion that corresponds to the general nicotine content of acigarette, cigar, pipe or the like and reducing successively to aninsignificant nicotine content or to no nicotine content at all.

In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 3, the central part 20 and thetotally or partially surrounding peripheral part 25 are produced in onepiece and consist of a saliva-dissolved material.

The device illustrated in FIG. 3 has two penetrating holes 21, 22 whichare dimensioned similarly to the four holes of the FIG. 2 embodiment.

In the FIG. 3 embodiment, the peripheral part 25 of the device is madefrom a material which is dissolved more readily by saliva than thematerial from which the central part is made, which means that when thedevice has been used to satisfy the desire for a smoke, the remainingpart of the device, essentially the central part 20, can serve as aconventional throat tablet.

Also lying within the scope of the invention is an embodiment in whichan adapted proportion of nicotine is mixed solely in the peripheral part25, where a higher concentration of nicotine is mixed in the peripheralpart 25 and in the central part 20, or where equal proportions ofnicotine are mixed in both the peripheral and the central parts.

Finally, FIG. 4 illustrates an embodiment having a more elliptical shapeand comprising a central part 20 provided with three holes 21, 22 and23.

The central part 20 may be formed in accordance with the prerequisitesillustrated in FIG. 2, although it will be noticed that in the FIG. 4embodiment a part 26 is partially surround the central part and afurther part 27 also partially surrounds the central part 20, saidpartially surrounding parts 26 and 27 possibly comprising material whichcorresponds to the material described and illustrated with reference toFIGS. 2 and 3.

It is known that the air resistance of a cigarette decreases as thecigarette becomes shorter, i.e. consumed. This feature can also beafforded by the inventive device, by permitting the holes to increaseslightly in diameter during a "smoking sequence".

This can be achieved by coating the inside of each hole with a thinlayer of saliva-dissolved material, or in some other way.

It will be understood that the invention is not restricted to theaforedescribed and illustrated embodiments thereof and thatmodifications can be made within the scope of the inventive concept asdefined in the following claims.

I claim:
 1. A device adapted to be held enclosed in the space betweenthe frontal surfaces of the teeth and the inner surface of the lips of auser, said device having a central part and a peripheral part, saidcentral part being provided with at least one hole having across-section specifically sized so that airflow drawn through said atleast one hole meets with a resistance that essentially corresponds toair resistance met by airflow through a smokable device, said centralpart being made of one of a plastic material and rubber material, saidperipheral part being made of a saliva-dissolvable material.
 2. A deviceaccording to claim 1, wherein said peripheral part completely surroundsthe central part.
 3. A device according to claim 1, wherein said centralpart extends to peripheral regions of the device, and said peripheralpart partially surrounds the central part.
 4. A device according toclaim 1, wherein said saliva-dissolvable material contains nicotine. 5.A device according to claim 1, wherein said central part is providedwith a plurality of through holes.
 6. A method of weaning an individualfrom smoking dependency associated with smoking a smokable device,comprising:positioning between the frontal surfaces of an individual'steeth and the inner surfaces of the individual's lips a device having atleast one through hole possessing a cross-section specifically adaptedso that airflow drawn through the at least one hole upon inhaling by theindividual meets with a resistance that essentially corresponds to airresistance met by airflow through the smokable device; and inhaling todraw air through the at least one hole in the device.